1970-71 NHL season
The 1970-71 NHL season was the 54th season of the National Hockey League. Fourteen teams each played 78 games (six games against each opponent). Two new teams, the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks made their debuts and were both put into the East Division. The Chicago Black Hawks were moved to the West Division. Prior to the start of the season, the Oakland Seals were renamed California Golden Seals. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup by beating the Black Hawks in seven games in the finals. From this season through the 2002-03 season, teams wore their white (or yellow) jerseys at home and their dark jerseys on the road. A new award for the most outstanding player as voted by the members of the NHL Players Association, the Lester B. Pearson Award, was introduced this season and the first winner was Phil Esposito. Regular season This season saw a marked increase in goal scoring, especially by the Boston Bruins, who shattered dozens of scoring records as they set the mark for most goals by a team (399) by nearly a hundred over the previous record holder. They also set records for most victories (57) and points (121). Phil Esposito set records for most goals in a season with 76 and for most points with 152. Defenceman Bobby Orr won his second consecutive Hart Trophy and set a new record for assists with 102. The Bruins also had the four league leading scorers, the first time in history this was achieved (the only other time being by the Bruins in 1974), and seven of the top ten leading scorers, the only time in NHL history this has ever been achieved. Boston won the East Division championship in a runaway. In the West Division, the powerful Chicago Black Hawks had been moved there partially to accommodate the expansion Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks (both of which were placed in the East Division) but more in an effort to provide greater balance between the divisions. Chicago broke St. Louis' stranglehold over the division, winning handily over the Blues and advancing to the Stanley Cup finals. The Montreal Canadiens, who missed the playoffs in 1969-70, appeared to be sinking once more. Players did not like Claude Ruel's dictatorial rule as coach, and Ralph Backstrom and John Ferguson retired. Ruel resigned and Al MacNeil took over. Both Ferguson and Backstrom returned, but Backstrom was later traded to Los Angeles for draft choices. The Vancouver Canucks played well at first and were around the .500 mark at mid-season. Then Orland Kurtenbach was injured and the team sagged. On October 29th, Gordie Howe became the first player to record 1000 assists in a 5-3 win over Boston at the Detroit Olympia. Detroit introduced a fine rookie goaltender, Jim Rutherford, who had bright moments despite the Red Wings last place finish. However, they suffered their worst defeat in franchise history January 2nd, when Toronto crushed them 13-0. On March 12th, Boston's Phil Esposito broke Bobby Hull's record for goals by a player in a season at 7:03 of the first period on Denis DeJordy of Los Angeles at the Forum in Inglewood, California. Then, at 15:40 he became the first player to score 60 goals. The Bruins won 7-2. Buffalo had a star, Gilbert Perreault, who on March 18th broke Nels Stewart's (and Danny Grant's, and Norm Ferguson's) rookie record with his 35th goal in a 5-3 win over St. Louis. He went on to finish the season with 38. Billy Taylor and Don Gallinger, now middle-aged, were finally forgiven for their gambling in 1948 and were reinstated to the NHL. However, they did not return to the NHL. Final standings Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold Scoring leaders Leading goaltenders Stanley Cup playoffs A significant controversy arose before the playoffs, where the Minnesota North Stars - having had a substantial lead for third place in the West over the Philadelphia Flyers - lost several games in a row to finish in 4th place by a single point. It was widely rumored that they did so to avoid playing the far superior Chicago Black Hawks, since at this time in the playoffs the first place team played the third place team and the second played the fourth. Nothing was proven against the North Stars (who defeated their first round opponents, St. Louis, four games to two, while the Flyers were swept by the powerful Black Hawks), but the format was changed the following year to the 1-4/2-3 format that prevailed thereafter. The Montreal Canadiens were matched against the Boston Bruins, and in one of the most extraordinary upsets in hockey history, Ken Dryden was hot in goal for the Canadiens as the Habs beat the Bears in seven games. In game 4, Bobby Orr became the first defenseman to get a hat trick in a playoff game when Boston won 5-2. The Canadiens' upset was so sensational that the Canadiens nearly suffered a fatal letdown against the Minnesota North Stars, but won the series in six games to advance to the finals. John Ferguson of Montreal openly criticized coach Al MacNeil. New York beat Toronto, but Bobby Hull and the Chicago Black Hawks were just too much for the Rangers and the Black Hawks advanced to the finals in seven games. Hull won two games with goals on face-offs, despite Glen Sather's coverage of him to check him. Playoff bracket Finals :see 1971 Stanley Cup Finals The 1971 Stanley Cup finals were played by the Montreal Canadiens and the Chicago Black Hawks. The series went the full seven games, with the Canadiens winning in Chicago despite trailing 2-0 halfway into the second period of game seven. Jacques Lemaire took a shot from centre ice that miraculously escaped goaltender Tony Esposito's notice, cutting the Black Hawks' lead to 2-1. Henri Richard tied the game just before the end of the second period, and scored again 2:34 into the third, giving the Habs the lead. Montreal goalie Ken Dryden kept Chicago off the board for the rest of the game, and the Habs won their third Stanley Cup in four years. It was the final game for Canadien superstar and captain Jean Beliveau, who retired after the season. To date, the Canadiens are the last road team to win a Game 7 of a Stanley Cup Final. The only other team to do so were the 1945 Toronto Maple Leafs. It was Al MacNeil's final game as Montreal coach — after he had benched Richard for Game 5, The Pocket Rocket declared that "MacNeil is the worst coach I ever played for!" Although Richard retracted his "angry comment", as he called it, MacNeil still resigned. NHL awards All-Star teams Debuts The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1970-71 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): *Reggie Leach, Boston Bruins *Ivan Boldirev, Boston Bruins *Gilbert Perreault, Buffalo Sabres *Jerry Korab, Chicago Blackhawks *Gilles Meloche, Chicago Blackhawks *Ken Dryden, Montreal Canadiens *Rick MacLeish, Philadelphia Flyers *Curt Bennett, St. Louis Blues *Rene Robert, Toronto Maple Leafs *Darryl Sittler, Toronto Maple Leafs *Dale Tallon, Vancouver Canucks Last games The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1970-71 (listed with their last team): *Jean-Guy Talbot, Buffalo Sabres *Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens *John Ferguson, Montreal Canadiens *Andy Bathgate, Pittsburgh Penguins *Glenn Hall, St. Louis Blues *George Armstrong, Toronto Maple Leafs *Charlie Hodge, Vancouver Canucks Team Photos See also * List of Stanley Cup champions * 1970 NHL Amateur Draft * 1970 NHL Expansion Draft * 24th National Hockey League All-Star Game * National Hockey League All-Star Game References *Hockey Database *NHL.com *hickoksports.com